By the heated water

The earth was scorched and cracked, so dry that it would be a crazy idea to think that, even a mile away, there was water. Yet, there was. The lands quickly became flatter, and some grass began to appear, then there were a few shrubs that reached for the unforgiving sun of the desert-like land, but nothing larger, not even when you reached the river that flowed through Dryfoot. The water was not cold, at least, not near the edges, actually somewhat warm, like a spring. It was a wonder how it was still flowing, even through the intense heat of summer. However, if one got past the warm water near the bank, they would be submersed in cooler liquid, and surrounded by the fish that stayed away from the heated banks. They were large and small, and aplenty, especially compared to the lack of animals on the land.

Next to the bank, on a very large rock, was what looked, from a far, like a star. Mordred's scales shined bright under the sun, sending mirror-like flashes in every direction as they caught the light. Up close, if one hadn't been blinded by then, she was a slender dragoness Fury, with scales of gold, orange and red. Her wings were slightly unfolded to take in the nice warmth of the sun, and her neck was lowered to drink from the warm river. She shined brighter than usual, and this was because she had just gone for a dip, a fish skeleton the size of her arm was the proof. She licked her chaps as her burnt orange eyes observed her land. The red tip of her tail twitched in a cat-like manner as she watched, with her sharp, eagle-like eyes, a beetle crawl around her claws, quite afraid of being squashed.

She moved her claw slightly and crushed it with the very tip, then washed it off in the river. In this quick action, she spotted on, tiny speck of dirt, just above her knuckle. Without hesitation, she cleaned it off as if it had the ability to give her a horrid disease. Her nose wrinkled a bit in disgust, then shook her head and neck and opened her jaws wide in a yawn. The Fury was growing bored, and was contemplating whether or not she wanted to play her game with the local humans. She resisted the urge to knead her claws into the ground and sat up, only to turn around and look towards the fire nation, wondering if any humans were out and about, ready for her little game of survival.

Eudora sat at the edge of the little bank, letting her feet be chilled by the water. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the hot sun on her back, but she knew she would receive no sunburn. No one from the Fire Nation would ever get a sunburn, it was just something they had learned to live along with. The sun, it would not phase them, and the heat (at least to an extent) also would not do much to make them even think twice about it. Perhaps it was because of the fire in their veins, or maybe the many hundreds, thousands, or maybe even millions of years of living here in such a place.

She sat there at the bank, simply bending down and splashing some water into her face. It felt cool against her pale, yet slightly tanned skin, soaking it and making it shine. Running a hand through her hair, she felt the cool water go through her scalp, seeming to cool her down a bit. She wasn't one that was too fond of the heat, but being one that could actually control it, the heat wasn't too much of a problem for her. She smiled slightly at that, feeling the temperature around her cool down almost in response.

It was only then that she got a startling sense going through her body. She could see a bright light, somewhere down the bank, still a ways away, but still too close for her liking. A dragon, and more than that, she knew it to be a fury. She wasn't always fond of the creatures, but it wouldn't be the first time that she would have ran into a fury. It seemed that they were always lurking about somewhere in the wilderness, and that you should always be prepared that you might come face to face with one. With Eudora being a weaker sort... coming face to face with one was not her wish, but it seemed on this day it would happen.

Around, there was green and yellow grass, some of it dead, the rest of it hanging on for dear life. Sometimes there were patches of black scorch, caused maybe by the sun's heat alone, or passing dragons. A patch of shiny red and orange slithered, being revealed as a dragon's tail, the tail of Mordred Lyra the Fury. Her teeth were just slightly bared as she looked over the land, feeling quite sure she wanted a new play thing. The brow that rested over her eyes kept the sun from blinding her, and naturally, as it always had been, her world was tinted slightly with a shade of burnt orange, it would be almost unnoticeable to anyone else who was to look through her eyes. Her tail shifted again as shaded pupil's hovered over form not too far off.

The narrow face pointed towards the human form and her eyes narrowed in malicious humor. Here was the one who would get the pleasure of being today's toy. A deadly grin and she spread her wings, then thought better of it. Her shining form slowly disappeared as she slipped into the water, her head disappearing in a burst of bubbles before that, too, disappeared. She slip beneath the water, growing ever closer to the little human. Her form slid like that of a snake's, her tail like a propeller behind her. The cool water was soothing against the small spaces between any scales, though Mordred would have preferred the feeling of the sun's heat instead.

The the Human's form was above her, and the Fury began her rise to the surface. She made her entrance dramatic, raising her head and shoulders, then pulling her wings up to throw water in every direction. "Foolish Human," She growled to the girl, while giving a ferocious snarl aloud. "You have entered my lands without second thought? Have you no self preservation?" Mordred asked as she pulled herself ashore, then moving so that she could surround the human. "Let me ask you, She said. "Would you prefer to be stranded deep within the desert, or in the middle of the ocean?" She grinned threateningly. Stranding a human in the ocean probably wouldn't be as fun as watching them starve and dehydrate in the desert, but it was worth the moment of interest.

Eudora's eyes widened as she saw the beast, slowly she climbed to her feet and began taking a few paces back as precaution, though she was well aware that if the dragon wished to do anything to her, it would be been an easy feat. Either way, she still held some caution, for she was one of the sole Fire welders that couldn't actually weld fire! The best she could work with was heat, but Furies enjoyed heat, but maybe perhaps there could be a temperature that would not serve to their liking.

Gulping, her hands balled into fists as she worked up some courage. Eudora was truly only frightened by death, and her intuition was telling her that death was not to come of her so very soon. "This land is loner land, not your land, and not the land of I, either," Eudora said aloud, defiantly, eyes narrowed simply at the dragon that stood before her. She pursed her lips, rolling her shoulders back simply. She was small in comparison to the dragon, but she still held some self preservation toward herself.

"I would prefer neither, as I did not intrude on you. You came to me, dragon, though I would wish not to just call you 'dragon' or 'beast', so what is it you shall be called by?" she finally asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She was sure that some of the Fire Nation were already looking for her, but she really didn't care. She could handle herself well enough. She had handled herself with the Nox dragon, Aizel, so she could handle herself with a fury, too.